Looking for the best options for tent camping near Castle Dale? The Dyrt can help you find the best tent campsites for your next trip. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Castle Dale, Utah's most popular destinations.
The Swell is also known as a great place for dispersed camping. Dispersed camping is a term used for camping outside of a designated campground. For those looking to strike off and find the ideal spot to pitch your tent, keep in mind that there are no services – no trash removal, no facilities, no access to water, meaning it is NOT for the casual camper.
The Joe's Valley Bouldering Area offers world class bouldering opportunities with over 188 bouldering sites and 9.7 miles of social trails in the area. The campground is being developed in 2017 and will offer metal fire rings, picnic tables and camping pads.
Bellevue Flats is the staging area for the 4 primitive routes in Sids Mountain WSA
Ferron Canyon Picnic Area is a small picnic area near the Black Dragon Trailhead on the Ferron Canyon Road. It is set along Ferron Creek at 6400' elevation and offers a quiet, shady spot for a picnic, or for a rest after a hike. There is one vault toilet available during open season.
Upper Joes Valley Campground is located at ~7340' elevation at the lower end of Upper Joes Valley, just south of the intersection of Millers Flat Road and Lowry Water Road. The campground is close to Indian Creek in a treed area dotted with sagebrush. The trees offer shade for most campers and provide spectacular autumn color. Many trails criss-cross the surrounding valley and mountainsides and visitors to the campground enjoy exploring the area trails on foot, on horseback, or by riding mountain bikes or off-highway vehicles (OHV). There are no amenities within the campground. Roads and spurs within the campground are dirt. Nearby attractions include the Joes Valley Recreation Area and the expansive Arapeen ATV Trail System, which has over 350 miles of designated, well-maintained OHV trails suitable for all riding skill levels.
The Ferron - Muddy Creek Recreation Area is a favorite for campers and fishers. It begins at Wagon Ridge Road on the north and extends south to the Forest Boundary. From foothills near Ferron, Utah it extends west to Skyline Drive. It is located in Emery, Sanpete and Sevier counties and the closest towns are Ferron and Emery, Utah. It can be most easily accessed from SR-10 and I-70. Portions of the Arapeen OHV Trail System are in this recreation area, small reservoirs and dispersed camping sites offer great opportunities for fun on the Forest.
For a description of this site, please contact the Price Ranger District: 435-636-3500.
Traveling over the Wasatch Plateau between the towns of Fairview and Huntington, the Huntington Canyon Scenic Byway makes up half of the Energy Loop, a National Scenic Byway. The byway passes through the Manti-Lasal National Forest and provides excellent views of the mountain tops and valleys below. Huntington Canyon is filled with the history of the region, especially evident is the history of the Mormon pioneers who settled the area. Don't pass up the opportunity to travel Huntington Canyon Scenic Byway.
Ranger
Smallish beautiful campground. Site 9 but sites 4, 5, 12 good too. 1 is private but away from toilets. Nice view down the valley to Electric Lake. Decent distance to Scofield. Relatively quiet but sites are fairly close together.
Food aside: Ate Knorr rice with chicken, spiced it up, and Hatch tortillas for dinner. Also Sprouts Hatch M&C with Wal Mart chicken packet and Old El Paso ranch sauce, both good.
Ranger
Dirt road in, off the hwy, was a bit rutted, but we made it okay in van. Took our chances on a FCFS spot, #8 which looked fairly level but was not. There were 2 bathrooms we saw and the site was mostly equidistant from both, and a bit of distance away. Beautiful canyon with walls rising up both sides but were just passing thru so didn't get to see much and didn't stay but basically overnight. Seems like some interesting pull out boon-docking sites on way in but bathroom in day use parking was locked in the am when we left.
Ranger
Stayed in site 8, which has a shallow and uneven driveway. We used several leveling blocks which helped. Site 6 is ideal in terms of proximity to toilets and relatively level site with trees and a water tap just adjacent. There are 9 total sites, 5 are group sites so tend to be LOTS of people around. Group sites are large and are only$20/night and site 9 is roomy, relatively private and has vault toilets adjacent. Walking trails in/around campground.
Lots of families. Safe. Rather enjoyed a sing-along one night with LOTS of kids.
2nd stay (June): Stayed again for 2 nights, this time in spot 6 which is roomier than 8 and one of only a few single family campsites. Renovation installed a new picnic table and fire pit but removed the tent pad. Water tap still adjacent.
Big family gatherings due to large family spots, across were 6 RVs in one spot and trucks parked everywhere including on the grass. Fairly quiet and respectful but dogs were allowed to run loose and while seemingly friendly, they were not supervised for pooping. This also means bathrooms were under serious strain esp re: available toilet paper.
Nearby: On Hwy 31, appear to be a variety of dispersed camping spots, most are not well marked. Some appear to have names, but not sure if they are reservable. Most are for "groups" but are typically only $20/night, some smaller group sites are only$10/night. Seem to be largely FCFS. Several have vault toilets adjacent.
Visited nearby Huntington Lake State Park, which is relatively modest in terms of facilities, basically a lake and a campground (no shade). The sites adjacent to the lake look nice (~sites 1-5) and have partial hookups but the trees are sparse. There is a trail around the lake, but it appears mainly to be a gravel road with some benches here/there.
Food aside (freeze dried packs with our own add-ons): Had Peak beef pasta marinara with italian and garlic seasoning. FQ (fart quotient) is low. Had garlic mashed and Hatch green chile mac (from Sprouts). Added pepper jerky to the mashed before water and the cheese (Mexican blend) and one packet of fajita chicken (Wal Mart, about $1.25) and some Kinder's smoked garlic into the mac when it was ready. Also crumbled some 4 cheese Triscuits on top.
Had Mountain House freeze-dried scrambled eggs in wheat tortillas with cheese, bacon (in at finish), and pepper jerky (in with water). Two servings would have made~4 burritos. Also recommend cutting back on the water to ~2/3-3/4c. Added pepper, garlic powder to eggs.
Had Mountain House pad thai with chicken for dinner. Didn't add sriracha seasoning but put our own smoked garlic, Wal Mart applewood smoked chicken packet and the supplied lime, peanut butter, and nuts (supplemented the nuts with our own).
Traveler
We rented a van in SLC and needed a quick spot to spend the night on the way to Arches/canyon lands. This was easy to find at dusk with a clear road. LOTS of trash around. You could hear the highway a little bit but the noise wasn’t too bad. We only saw one other person who drove in and then left. There is a nice big gas station/truck stop about a mile away open 24 hours so we went there to use the bathroom and get gas. Not sure why this post calls it Canyon Road. It’s off of Consumers Road then Dump road. We did have service with T-Mobile and Verizon.
Traveler
Just needed to find a place for the night and this was perfect! No one around, huge site, beautiful views and free! Cows meander around the campsite..didn't bother us. If you go past where the directions take you, there are 3 or 4 spots that are also nice. Road is easy to travel.
Traveler
Up the canyon road, past the south campgrounds. BLM site and fees required. We paid $15 for 1 night. Quite and great views of Temple mountain.
Ranger
We needed a spot to stop heading west on 70. Arrived here at 6:30 pm on a September weekday and there were still 6 or so spots available FCFS. We picked a large site. The grounds have very large trees that shade the campsites. The bathrooms were spotless. Didn’t use the showers. Very quiet campground. One train before bedtime. Looking forward to visiting the John Wesley Powell museum on our way out of town. Water and 20/30/50 amp electric. $45
Ranger
We needed a place for the night after leaving the crazy busy area of Moab and this was the perfect spot. We will absolutely return again but with the ATVs.
There were several people camping and riding their ATVs and SXSs but when the sun went down it was quiet and so dark. The night sky is beautiful.
Pack it in and out but a perfect place for us. It had rained the day we arrived and it was not muddy and no problem getting in and out.
The road getting in has a bit of wash board so just take it slow.
Guide
Nice remote site. Two bathrooms.
Guide
Hot dry but nice shade at each campsite
LegendForested campsites in a narrow canyon. Busy on weekends. Got the last first served sit at 3pm Friday. Sites next to the main road. Traffic peering into the campsite. Young fit crowd. Weak cell reception.
Traveler
About 10 minutes from Goblin Valley State Park. There’s dispersed camping all along Temple Mt Road and Goblin Valley Road. Follow any of the dirt roads to plenty of sites. We first picked a site on top of a hill but quickly realized how windy it could get so we set up camp just after turning left down Goblin Valley Road. We had the whole place to ourselves, very quiet and great views of the Milky Way. No bugs at night but as soon as the sun came up the mosquitos came out and we quickly left.
ScoutArrived 3Jul24 at dusk. There is standing water marsh with a frac tank, possibly for water for the quarry above. Got out of the car to give dog a break and within one minute was scrambling back in. Drove up hill to the quarry and got out with dog....still very bad mosquitos but some breeze. Hid in the car while dog was out on a long rope for a while, covered with mosquitos. After 10 minutes I had killed most that were in the car and the ones waiting at the doors and windows were gone. I cracked the door and began pulling dog rope to get slack in and then had dog climb over me into back seat.
We drove east one Dyrt to Miller Canyon and it was AWESOME. I remember maybe 3 mosquitos there.
There are only two things I can compare this savagery to (and I am in my late 50s):
Alaska (Last Chance Rd dispersed is WORSE--However, note that when I was in AK I wasn't asking for trouble--I was indoors during mosquito hours--I am sure AK has mosquitos as bad as Last Chance if you go looking)
Canada Boundary Waters Boy Scout Canoe Base (about the same at dusk--only fools wouldn't have camp totally ready to be inside tents before mosquito hours. Mornings were fine.
Guide
Great spot, I’ve always found a site here. Just make sure you hold right onto Road 1013 and the campgrounds are about a half mile down on the left.
Traveler
Great sun rises and sunsets. Not all sites are suitable for a 27 foot trailer but there was enough I that I still had some choices.
Traveler
Only one site I felt comfortable pulling a 27 foot trailer but it was beautiful and I wished I could have stayed longer. Watch out for rain. The dry wash beds will flood and I’m lucky I left when I did.
Guide
This spot was a little hard to locate because it’s on trust land and the spots look like junk piles. Yuck! There was so much ammo casings on the ground it looked like a war zone. Obviously the locals use it as a shooting range and do not clean up after themselves. We went on down dump road a little bit and found a spot tucked in the canyon and out of site of the road for a little wind break and privacy. I added that location because it was not as bad. Still to much trash laying around though. I don’t understand why people can not take care of these free resources so they are not taken away.
GuideThis is trust land so you will see where a lot of people come back here to target practice. Sadly they do not clean up any of their trash. The area is nice, large and very private.
Traveler
This is the place if you like being "off the grid". 18 miles of unpaved (and, for us, muddy) road to get to the campground. It's a 90-minute trek each way from the closest gas/food/retail, so be prepared. It's also a fairly aggressive grade up and down. Brakes and transmissions will need a chance to recover the climb/descent.
Altitude is also a major factor. This is over 10,000 of elevation. Our lungs definitely felt it. While Salt Lake City was hitting 100 degrees, we were sleeping with three blankets at night as temps were in the low 40s/upper 30s.
This campground is definitely not level. Outside of the group sites, most of the spots are sloped, and ours might have been the worst. We needed leveling blocks to lift our pop-up about 8 inches on the dedicated "pad" and there was no flat spot to set up any canopy or EZ Up. Our site did have plenty of shade with direct sun from about 8 am to noon.
We did have a couple of issues that will deter us from coming back. First was the constant flow of ATVs/OHVs/vehicles coming into the campground to use the toilets and unused sites for lunch/dinner. Since there was no camp host on site, this felt a little abusive. There are several open sites along the road to the campground and more as you continue up Skyline Drive. I think everyone using them knows that this is basically a truck stop for them.
The second issue we had was the moths. Having a pop-up, we understand that critters happen. But we must have had over 100 moths that found shelter under our flaps, in the roofline, and inside our camper. It added 45 minutes to our breakdown and pack up.
Those issues, coupled with the long and rough road, make this place a one-and-done campground for us.
GuideLots of spots. Visited after a rain storm and dirt was dirt and not clay like others spots in the area. Trees in area will hide other campers.
Guide
Stopped for the night on the way to Colorado. Very easy check-in via the Web. There are a ton of very well developed sites. There was one other camper we saw that came in a little later than us.
We would stay here again.
We did have a minor issue that the 50a service breaker wouldn't reset even with nothing plugged in. But we simply used the 30a which was plenty for us with the relatively cool weather. We let them know the next day and they said it would be checked.
Scout
The kids really enjoyed this location until about 10 in the morning! But it was very secluded and nice and you could see another site from it but no one was there. The roads were very bumpy so we just went slow.
TravelerFirst of all, the site is very big. It is quiet and ckean. Very little firewood, if You can- bridge your own.
RangerGood size sites. Boat launch area to river. No great swimming area. Wonderful disk golf 18hole course (and 9 hole reg golf) next door. (10$)
Legend
This place is across the street from Green River State park which is lush and green. This place feels like a desert. There is no grass everything is gravel. Bathrooms are coded and there is a dump station. Spots have electric and water some have sewer. It seems there are several RV that just live here and others are passing through. Spaces are pull throughs. It is great for a one night stay but I would not want to be here longer. There is a train tracks near by so if that noise bothers you this is not the place.
ScoutWe camped here May, 2024. This is away from the noise of I-70; however, a train runs quite close to the campground, thus the 4 star review instead of 5. It doesn't come by that often. There is lots of green grass, as well as a lot of trees. It seemed to be well taken care of. The campground was full when we were there, but was very quiet at night.
ScoutWe camped here in May, 2024, on our way north, traveling through Utah. What looked like a nice campground from the Utah State Park website was not a nice campground. Firstly, the bathrooms were not clean. Second, this seems to be a hang-out for the locals in Huntington, especially the teens. Third, what few trees there are, are half-dead from not being watered. There is evidence that a lot have been cut down, probably because they died entirely. It is a mystery that a state park, with a reservoir, does not water the grass and trees in the campground! Fourth, and most importantly, there is semi-truck traffic on the highway that borders the campground, about every 5-10 minutes, day and night, no exaggeration! Drive a few hours northeast and camp at Green River State Park in Green River, UT. That is truly a nice, park-like setting, away from the noise of I-70.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Castle Dale, UT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Castle Dale, UT is Willow Creek Road - Dispersed Site with a 5-star rating from 3 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 26 tent camping locations near Castle Dale, UT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
